TonkaHacks is an opportunity for Minnesotan High Schoolers to immerse themselves in the world of Computer Science (no experience required). The goal of the event is to offer participants the “hackathon experience”: problem-solving in teams with a marriage of technical and communication skills. TonkaHacks received inspiration from business plan competitions where it is key to present products in a clear and concise manner. Participants are given a problem to solve and they treat their solutions as products. Every solution has an execution plan, technical features, and a target market. This year’s problem/theme was “Making Education Interesting” in regard to online learning. The result was a series of engaging digital education platforms.
This is TonkaHacks 3rd annual event and the volume of participants has grown 3X and the prizes have increased from $100 to $1000. TonkaHacks helps participants go from zero to one with programming and product development skills through a series of workshops and panels. I read in this article that there are 5 skills needed for a hackathon: domain expertise, designing, front-end development, back-end development, and project management. Our theme of “Making Education Interesting” creates a shared experience of online learning between participants. The event hosted workshops to teach participants user interface design with the UI tool Figma, as well as providing mentors who have a background in consulting front-end and back-end development. Participants also had access to planning resources that helped them execute the development of their products and determine the best approach to presenting.
Student and Professional Panels
I moderated both student and professional panels for participants to learn more about what lies ahead in technical fields. The student panel had 3 college students pursuing technical degrees such as computer science and electrical engineering at schools such as Yale University or UC Berkeley. They provided a wealth of knowledge from interdisciplinary learning experiences to building meaningful mentor relationships. The professional panel had 3 software engineers from Target. They shared their inspirations for pursuing a career in software engineering as well as the powerful team environment that Target creates. Here is a link to the recording of the professional panel.
This year, the winners built a virtual classroom platform to address disengagement in online learning with features such as movement, tables, and proximity chats, fostering crucial social connections and facilitating peer-to-peer immersion. Below is a sample UI of their product.
TonkaHacks provides students with the fundamentals to succeed in the field of technology while grasping business concepts. We aim to continue growing the volume of participants in years to come. Feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in participating, organizing, or sponsoring next year’s event.